Walked out last night to the sound of trickling water in the garage. Water heater catch pan drain doing it's intended job. Ugh. No leaking connections, something internal. I kept all the documentation so was able to quickly reference the warranty information. Six years on the tank but for some reason I didn't drop the receipt into the bag with the other paperwork. Double ugh.
However, a glance at the info plate shows a build date of... 03/2010. Wow, under the wire by mere days. Cool! It's a GE unit specific to Home Depot. Pulled out the failed unit and moseyed my happy behind to HD. They did their thing at the customer service counter but told me the difference between the "prorated warranty exchange" and the replacement unit was $145. Triple ugh, but I a glance over the warranty brochure under "Six Year Tank Warranty" was the magic phrase "In the event of a tank failure/leak not associated with misuse, installation, damage, or third-party hardware this water heater will be replaced with a comparable unit." Once I pointed this out the customer service lady called the manager, who called the store general manager, who looked at the brochure and said, "It says what it says. If you'd like to back up to the door we'll help you load your replacement." Yay!
Home Despot doesn't stock GE anymore but the Rheem unit I got was, for all intents and purposes, the same unit with a different sticker. The wiring ports and stiffening ridges in the access panel are even the same. Aside from changing the solder connections to Sharkbites (may the inventor of these little gems be forever blessed with good fortune!) the replacement unit went in without a hassle.
I feel fortunate. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.
Brad
